1. How is the board set up?

The dart board is hung so that the center of the bullseye is 1.74m (5'8")
from the floor. The throwing line, which is also referred to as the oche
(pronounced "ockey"), the hockey (mostly in America), or the toe line, is
generally located 2.37m (7'9.25") from the face of the dartboard measured
horizontally. This is the recognized world standard asset by the World
Darts Federation and is played as such in most areas. However, there are
variations in distance and some people play from 2.29m (7'6"), 2.44m (8')
and as far as 2.74m (9').

When hanging the board care must be taken to ensure that the floor does
not slope away from the wall. If it does, the height of the bullseye will
not be located the correct height from the floor in relationship to where
the player is standing. If this is the case, the location of the dart board
on the wall will have to be adjusted either up or down whichever the case
may be.

When measuring the distance from the dart board to the toe line along
the floor from the wall, care must be taken to include the distance from
the wall to the front surface of the dartboard in the measurement to ensure
proper placement. This procedure can be facilitated by tying a weight such
as a large nut to a length of string and using it as a plumb bob by placing
the other end of the string on the board's surface and letting the weight
dangle near the floor. Place a mark on the floor with a piece of chalk
and use this as the starting point for measuring the distance to the toe
line.

An easier method is to measure diagonally from the center of the bullseye
to the floor 2.931m (115-3/8"). This will reduce the margin of error as
long as the bullseye has been placed at the correct height and the floor
and the wall make a right angle.

The National Darts Federation Of Canada (NDFC) specifies that the minimum
length of the toe line must be 610mm (24") long. Furthermore, a raised
oche is specified and must be a minimum of 38mm (1.5") high. Although a
raised oche is preferred, in most applications, the toe line is a length
of tape place along the floor parallel to the wall the dart board is mounted
on.

2. If the toe line is more than a line wide, do you
stand on it or behind it?

Officially, it depends upon what type of line was used. If the toe line
is a raised oche, the proper distance is measured to the back side of the
oche. The back side is the side furthest from the dart board where the
player's foot will rest against it. Players may not stand on the oche.

If the toe line is a length of tape or other flat type of mark on the
floor of a noticeable width, the proper distance is measured to the front
side of the mark. The front side is the side of the toe line closest to
the dart board. In such a case the player may stand on but not over the
line.

3. How is the game of darts actually played?

Different games have different rules. The two most popular in North America,
the x01 games and American Cricket, are discussed in this FAQ, the rules
to other games (variants) are provided in part 2 of the FAQ.

In general, each player has a turn or throw consisting of three darts.
To determine who will play first, each player (or one player from each
team) will throw one dart at the bullseye. The player who's dart is the
closest to the center of the board plays first. Often the order of play
is determined by a toss of a coin instead. This procedure of throwing at
the bull to see who plays first is often called "diddling for the middle"
or "one up". In the event of a tie throw, both players must throw or "diddle"
again in reverse order. If both darts land in the same area of the bullseye
is considered a tie even though one dart may be noticeably closer to the
center of the dart board.

In competition, it is common to allow each player a warm up of three
throws, taken one throw at a time in series, before a game or "leg" begins.

In a game, darts not landing in the scoring area do not count score
but do count as darts thrown and may not be thrown over. However, in the
event that a player drops a dart not having made an effort to throw it,
he may pick it up and throw it. A dart's score is determined by the point
of entry of the dart based on the wire divisions, not necessarily the color.

4. What are all those wires?

The dartboard is divided into wedge shaped segments numbered non-sequentially
1 through 20. Each wedge is divided by wires which run to the center of
the dartboard. The center, or bullseye, is comprised of two parts. The
outer portion, often referred to as the large or outer bull, scores 25
points and is a different color than the central portion which is often
referred to as inner or double bull and worth 50 points.

The wedges are subdivided by two narrow rings. The outer ring (or "doubles
ring") counts as double the number indicated for that segment of the board.
The second ring located approximately halfway between the outer ring and
the bullseye (the "triples ring") counts as triple the number indicated
for that segment of the board.

The organization of wires running to the center and concentrically around
the dart board are called the "spider" because of their resemblance to
a spider's web.

5. What kind of board should I buy?

Assuming you are playing steel-tipped darts, you should buy a bristle dart
board. While wound paper dart boards are much less expensive, they do not
last very long and are not very playable. There are several good makes
with the British makers Nodor and Winmau being the best known. These boards
use a slotted bracket which is mounted on the backboard or cabined wall.
A single screw is inserted in the middle of the back of the dart board
and permits the rotation of the dart board when it is hung on the bracket.
Rotating the board on a regular basis helps prevent uneven wear. When It
is turned, the wire number ring is removed and replaced so that the 20
is always in the 12 o'clock position and is always over a black wedge.

There are two popular misconceptions about bristle dartboards which
will be put to rest here. The first is that the boards are made from pig
bristles hence the origin of the name "bristle" board. This is absolutely
false. The material these boards are made of is sisal. While sisal grows
in many countries, Nodor, for example, imports white sisal from Africa
because of it's specific qualities.

The second misconception involves softening the board by wetting it.
DO NOT WET YOUR BOARD!! The sisal will dry and swell and this will quickly
destroy the board. By the same token, when the board is not in use, the
lighting used to illuminate it should be turned of to reduce the heating
of it's surface and help prevent excessive drying. Properly maintained,
a good board should last a long time relative to it's use.

Plastic, automatic scoring dart boards are also available, which require
the use of special soft-tip darts. The author of this FAQ does not play
soft-tip darts and consequently does not know much about it. (I invite knowledgeable
individuals to contact me by email with submissions.)

I have seen a board that does automatic scoring with steel-tip darts, manufactured
by Wellow Leisure Products in the UK and distributed in the U.S. by T.O.P.Dart
Systems, Inc. of Rochester, New York. It sells for around $3000(US).
From what I understand, it is both accurate and reliable. One Thing
I don't know is how it scores a bounce-out or a dart that drops out after
it originally stuck into the board. It uses a special sisal dart board
impregnated with graphite to make it electrically conductive. Each scoring
area of the board is a separate component. If the sensors in a component
fail, that component is replaced rather than the board. The biggest problem
is that after playing on the board for a time, the graphite tends to stick
to the points, turning the player's hands black. The light colored areas
of the board also get messed up as the graphite is dragged to the surface
when the darts are removed.

It's a brilliant idea, really, but needs a little work to make it more
congenial!!!

My view of these boards is much the same as for the plastic boards,
not because of accuracy of the equipment, but because they are too mechanical
to fit well with the game that I love. Part of it is that scoring is a
part of the game. I know from watching some score keepers that it can be
a very painful experience to score an '01 game, but to me, it goes with
the territory.

Sharpening your score keeping skills helps you to do the quick calculations
so that you can adjust after a missed triple and go to the next best choice.
The Other point, for me, is something that a few others have made. Pumping
coins into a machine all night is a waste as far as I am concerned. I'd
Rather spend that money on new flights or darts, and have an extra beer
or two. While the bars are certainly entitled to make money any way they
can, if they waited for me to patronize either kind of machine, they'd
lose.

6. What kind of darts should I buy?

Ah--now there's the question. Generally, people prefer "tungsten" darts,
which is a heavier material than the more traditional brass. As a result,
darts can be thinner providing tighter grouping. Before buying a new set
try several different types of darts. Borrow some from your friends or
go to a dart store that has a board mounted and will let you try different
darts. Once you've tried several darts at a dart shop, it might be considered
rude to walk away without buying anything!

There are maximum lengths and weights for darts: maximum length is stated
at twelve inches, maximum weight at 52 grams. (Don't ask us why they mix English
and metric measurements!) At first, longer darts may be better
aerodynamically. Retractable point darts are available from several different
manufacturers - many players like them, claiming fewer bounce backs, some
players don't, claiming less control. The original and still most popular
retractable point darts are manufactured by the Bottelsen Dart Company
under the name Hammerhead because of the way the point moves back into
the dart and is hammered off the wire into the dart board by the dart's
barrel.

Bounce outs are more a function of the condition of the wires. New boards
bounce less than used ones. I've Seen the best bounce game shots using
Hammerheads. If your dead on the wire, it is coming out, period.

But they do help keep a good point on the dart. However, don't confuse
a good point with being sharp. Stones are meant to remove burrs so it does
not pull the fibers from the board when you remove the dart. If the tip
is too sharp, it will dig into the wire and you will bounce even more.
Remove the burrs, but leave the point with a rounded surface so it will
'roll' to one side or the other when you hit a wire with a glancing blow.

the little plastic, metal foil, nylon or turkey feather "wings" that give
the dart aerodynamic characteristics. Similar in purpose to the feathers
on an arrow.

There are several types of flights and shafts available. I use white Jocky
Wilson shafts for several reasons. First, these are not plastic but nylon
based, thus stronger. They have a little metal ring which prevents the
fingers from breaking off when hit by a dart and also serve to secure the
flight and prevent it from falling off. I prefer white because the white
ones are stronger. The colored doping supposedly weakens the material.

Plastic shafts tend to break more easily thus requiring replacement
more often. If you don't like the Jocky Wilson shafts, try some of the
other nylon-based shafts. Metal shafts do last longer, but I've found that
there are 3 annoying things about them. They are always coming unscrewed.
Some come with little rubber washers to help keep them tighter while others
have holes drilled through them so you can stick a little tool into them to tighten them up. DON'T use another dart point, you WILL bend your points. Another thing I don't like
about metal shafts is that because most are made of aluminum, a soft metal
which tends to bend when the dart falls on the floor. The thinner/longer
the shaft, the greater the chance of bending. Finally, I don't like them
because when you "Robin Hood" them, the fingers get bent out. You can bend
them in but they are no longer "true" and unbalance the shaft and dart.

Harrows Makes a product called "Alamo" shafts. They are a combination
of plastic/nylon and aluminum. The fingers thread into the shaft and are
made of aluminum. I used to use them too, but found that the plastic expanded
a little and the aluminum insert would get loose. What I did like is that
you could buy replacement fingers. So when they got bent, you could throw
them away and plug in new ones. It usually takes a few hits to permanently
destroy them, however.

Plastic flight holders break within thirty or forty seconds of use.
They are worth nothing.

All metal shafts are expensive. A set of titanium shafts cost
about fifteen bucks in the states, but they some have a 15 year guarantee.
Hard to believe...The shafts won't break, however, they will bend if you
carry you dart wallet in your back pocket and sit on them. The word "titanium"
is a little confusing. It's like "tungsten". The dart barrels are made
of tungsten alloy, but the points are still steel. Because titanium is
so hard, you can't really do anything fancy with it, like put threads on
it.
So, the fitting that goes into the dart barrel is made of aluminum
and there's a little fitting that pushes on to the other end to slide your
flights in. It's made of aluminum too, like the fitting on the Alamo shafts.
If you Robin Hood them, they will bend and/or break too. The advantage
of the titanium shafts is that they are pretty rugged and are thin and
non-obstructive.

As to flights it used to be, back in the olden days (20 years
ago), there were basically three types of flights you could buy for your
darts, which were made of brass and equipped with 1/4" threads (instead
of 2BA threads common to the tungsten darts). You could buy the feather
flights in 2 basic styles and several different lengths, molded plastic
flights (like the ones that came and, perhaps, still do come with paper
boards) or wooden shafts (referred to as "canes" by the Brits) in which
you would stuff paper flights in much the same fashion as our plastic/aluminum,
etc. shafts and folded flights we use today.

Of the three, the turkey feather flights were by far the best and, in
my opinion, still are. The long arrow feather flights provided the smoothest,
most stable flight for your darts. The feather flights fell into disuse
mainly because players began buying tungsten darts with leatherette wallets
which allowed them to carry their darts safely in a shirt or pants pocket.
Feather flights are also easily damaged and spares are bulky and difficult
to carry. The darts must be carried in a box to protect the flights. Strangely
enough, many players today, prefer not to remove their flights and carry
them in a plastic holder which would be ideal for protecting the feather
flights. But due to a shortage of suitable turkey feathers, the flights
are pretty expensive. Why is there a shortage of suitable turkey feathers
when there is no shortage of turkeys? Because today, poultry is speed fed
with all kinds of unnatural ingredients to make them grow faster and bigger
so the farmer can get them to market faster and make more money. This results
in a poor grade of feather. Such is life in the '90s.

* Dart World

* North American Dart Supplies

9. How do I get better?

Practice. Make a point of setting a goal for each session. Try to develop
a consistent stroke. Try to eliminate unnecessary motion of the body or
the arm. Follow-through. (Many players end a throw with their fingers pointing
at the board.) Compete with friends. Have a good time. Try to get in the
"zone" and don't think about your mechanics as you play! (It doesn't matter
whether you breath in or out on your throw.)

Here are some ideas to think about:

Is it bad for darts to spin on their way to the dart board?

A slight spin on the dart tends to help it fly straight and true by
maintaining stability in flight and reduce lateral wobble.
I believe that trying to add spin to your darts (as opposed
to acquiring it naturally) can add too much extra motion to your game.
If it comes naturally to you, fine. If not, don't worry about it.

Some people tend to align the dart in it's flight path ( point the tip
at the desired entry point then throw ) in fact most people I've seen throw,
do this. I have always pointed the flight at my entry point then in the
recoil , turned it in the right direction then shot.

Some aim by using the flight as a "V" - a sort of sight. Now I don't
sight quite that way any more but when I aim, the dart is close to 90 degrees
to the board. I guess most people do it that way.

Stance:
I am a firm believer in 'minimum body motion' because I want to introduce
as few errors as possible into the throw. I believe strongly that any swaying
of my body will either mess up my accuracy or require some kind of compensating
motion that will lead to a style that will break down under pressure. In
the past, I have stood with almost all my weight on my forward foot with
my rear foot just touching the floor, and leaned WAY forward. This was
my way of dealing with my own uncertainty about hitting the target reliably.
I have found that the distance gained by leaning forward was more than
offset by the loss of accuracy in this shaky stance. When I moved to a
more stable stance, I found that I could adjust quite easily to the new
distance from the board, and my groups tightened up right away.

Grip:
It is important to release a dart so that it is pointing perpendicular
to the board. What I saw when a dart was released at an angle were two
things:

1. The dart oscillated as the air had the normal effect on the flights.
This could be side to side, up and down, or some combination, depending
on the angles at release. This was what I expected and what makes basic
sense.

2. Whenever the dart was pointed in any direction other than straight
forward, it tended to move slightly in that direction. If I released it
pointing to the left it tended to go left, then, as it straightened out
and oscillated to point right, it started to go right. By the time it hit
the board, it was again pointing left and going left. These oscillations
were around the center of mass, I'm assuming, so you could say that the
dart stayed mostly on target all the way, but there is a problem with this
thought. I'm interested in where the point hits the board. If the dart
is pointed either left, right, up, or down, the point will be off target
compared to what I want. I've tried to figure out how far off it can be,
and I've found that even small amounts of oscillation can make the point
hit the width of a double off target. This is not something that I scientifically
measured, but it was enough to convince me that my goal
should be a clean release, without oscillation of any kind.

Other opinions:

My theory has at times been the following: When you throw the dart,
grip it at it's center of gravity and imagine that that part of the dart
is the only part that exists. In other words, hold it comfortably, but forget
about what angle the shaft is at (but be sure that that angle is consistent).
It's almost like you are throwing a rock at the board. Wayne brings up Avery good point- in the process of straightening out, the dart will oscillate
a small amount and go slightly in the direction it is pointed. You can
imagine that if you are consistent, you will automatically, in time, learn
how to compensate for this motion. BUT! As we all know, the more things
you have to compensate for (i.e. extra leg motion) the worse off you are.

My conclusion is the following: I believe that if the dart is held almost
straight to the board at the time of release, the oscillations will be
VERY SMALL, and also the veering off of the dart will be VERY SMALL. So
I will try to incorporate a grip that points the dart more towards the board.
(When I try to point the dart exactly at the board I find that there is
a lot of tension in the wrist which cannot be good).

Try keeping your arm and release straight. Make sure you are following
through when you release the dart and not pushing or snapping your throw.
The position of your thumb is also something to watch our for as it will
effect the way you release your dart. Finally, go to your board and experiment
with how you're throwing keeping these things in mind. Don't worry too
much about where your darts are going, rather 'how' they're going for now
until you find out what your doing (or not doing) to cause them to wobble.

I have noticed that I need to have a very relaxed throwing hand.
A little tension in that hand can make for some sideways pressure (caused
by a finger or thumb) during the release of the dart. Once my hand is relaxed
while releasing the dart, then I watch for the position of the thumb and
the follow-through that Bob has talked about. Remember that the dart is
light enough that small changes in your grip and release will definitely
have an effect on the flight of the dart through the air. Stance is an
important part of a good game, but a change in stance doesn't tend to produce
wobble, at least not in my experience.

11. What's going on in professional darts?

In early 1994, I watched the Embassy World Championship on BBC 2 at Sunday
2 Jan 1994, but I read on CEEFAX, I saw an another World Championship:
WDC World Championship at Purfleet. What is the difference?"

What you see here is the sad state of international darts. The international
dart scene is controlled by the WDF (World Dart Federation) and under it
all the national dart associations including the 'BDO' (British Dart Organization).
A group of professional dart players, their managers, and some dart equipment
manufacturers decided that the BDO was not promoting the professional game
as much as they should. Prize money had dropped, televised tournaments
had decreased, etc. As a result they started up an organization called
the 'World Dart Council' (WDC) and, to get their message across that they
were serious, they sent a letter to the BDO stating their intent to boycott
the British Masters tournament run by the BDO. Well, to make a long story
short, the e BDO reacted by banning the players who signed the letter from
playing for England. This dispute has not been settled, and now the BDO
is trying to influence the whole world in banning these players for life.
That indeed would be sad, as some of the players are John Lowe, Eric Bristow,
Jocky Wilson, Dennis Priestley, Rod Harrington, etc. (16 in all originally).
Two players have since switched back to the loving arms of the BDO (Chris
Johns of Wales and Mike Gregory of England). So which World Championship
is the real one? I'm afraid only time will tell. If the winners of both
were to play-off, my money would be on the WDC. For further information
on this, there are a few articles in Bull's-eye magazine. I don't get Darts
World magazine but I would hope that there has been some coverage. PS--Neither
Chris Johns nor Mike Gregory qualified for the Embassy after they switched
back. It's unfortunate that the BDO is so intent on maintaining their little
empire and are willing to forsake the future of our sport rather than sitting
down with the WDC (which they steadfastly refuse to do) and try to come
to a usable compromise. The World Cup held in Las Vegas in October was
definitely a 'watered down' version. Roland Scholten of the Netherlands
won the men's singles and I'm sure he's a darn fine darter, however, I
don't believe he would have won if the field of competition had included
the likes of Dennis Priestly, Peter Evison, Bob Anderson, etc., etc.

By the way, several US players are now blacklisted by the BDO (let's
face it the World Dart Federation is simply a puppet organization of the
BDO's, anyway).

12. So who's the world champion?

It depends on who you ask. Bob Lanctot wrote the following about the Embassy
Championship (BDO/WDF):"I thought some of you might be interested in the
article I wrote for the Ottawa Pub Dart League Newsletter which I produce
for the league. I'd like to express my thanks to David E.Newton, Reijer
Grimbergen and, especially, Gustav Rossner who kept us posted and provided
us with the news as it happened. I was also able to compose my article
using information about the tournament printed in Bull's-Eye News magazine,
Jan. 1994."

CANUCK WINS EMBASSY PROFESSIONAL

The prestigious Embassy World Professional Championship title was captured
by a Canadian darter in London last weekend. John Part of Oshawa, Ontario
humbled the Brits by defeating Bobby "Mr. Glitter" George by a score of
6 sets to nil. For his efforts, John will bring home $70,000 in prize money.
Not bad for a few days' work.

Brits Steve Beaton and Ronnie Baxter (who was beaten by Part in the
first round) and Dutchman Roland Sholten, the top 3 seeded players, failed
to make it through to the quarter finals. Sholten recently made his mark
in the darts world by winning the men's event at the World Cup held in
Las Vegas.

On his way to victory, Part beat Steve McCollum of England 4 sets to
nil in the best of 7 sets quarter finals. Next to fall to this Canadian
steam roller was Ronnie Sharp of Scotland. The semi-finals are a best of
9 sets event and Part knocked Sharp off with a 5 to 1 win - the only set
Part lost during the tournament. Then it was on to the finals, held on
Saturday, January 8th.

Bobby George smiled and joked throughout the finals in spite of the
fact he was wearing a corset to ease the pain of his trapped sciatic nerve
which caused him to limp as he walked to and from the dart board. Part
seemed quite calm and relaxed, quite typical for those who have seen him
play. He said afterward that it was his intention to keep the crowd quiet,
since, if he played up to them, he would probably lose their support as
most were Bobby George fans.

Afterwards, George was overheard telling Part, "You're terribly boring
you know - always getting the finishes!" There was more truth to that than
Mr. Glitter's good-natured ribbing suggested. In fact, it was reported
the finals were quite tedious to watch. Both players often threw 9 darts
each at the doubles and frequently doubles below 10 were required to close
the games. Both even had a go at the mad house -everyone's favourite double,
double one.

John Part is the first non-resident of the United Kingdom to win the
Embassy World Professionals. The only Canadian invited, he fought his way
from an initial field of 32 players which included competitors from Wales,
Scotland, Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, USA, Denmark, Belgium and
Sweden. The "by invitation only" tournament is considered by many to be
the most prestigious title in the world of professional darts. His name
will surely be etched in the record books forever.

As of March 24, 1994, the World Darts Council Professional Rankings
rate Dennis Priestley as number one, followed by Bob Anderson, Peter Evison,
Rod Harrington and Phil Taylor.

13. How do you play the x01 games?

By far the most popular darts games are "301", "501", and other, higher,
"x01". In both 301 and 501 the basic principle is subtraction of your score
from the initial score of either 301 or 501, the winner being the first
to reduce his score to exactly zero.

The following rules were provided by Winmau with one of their dart boards:

GENERAL RULES OF DARTS

1. Each side starts with 301 points. The method of scoring is to subtract
each score from the remaining total. The score 301 [and 501] is used mainly
for games between two individuals. For team play the opening score should
be increased to 501 [, 701] or 1001 depending on team size.

2. Tournament games are usually started straight, but as an alternative,
can be played by starting with any double.

3. The first to reduce his score exactly to zero is the winner.

4. To finish, a double (or bullseye) which exactly reduces the score
to zero must be thrown.

5. For the purpose of Rules 3 and 4, "Bullseye" counts as double 25.
[50]

6. If a greater score is thrown than is required to reduce the remaining
score exactly to zero, then none of the three darts count for that throw
and the score remains as it was before that particular throw was taken.
[Did anybody not know this was called a "bust"?]

7. Each game is called a "leg". Three legs make a match and the ultimate
winner is the player who first wins 2 legs. This can be varied.

Generally, when two individuals are playing, 301 is played with the
double-in rule while 501 is played straight-in.

A Double-Out Chart

A double out chart is a collection of possible finishes or out-shots usually
for three darts. Memorization or at least familiarity is recommended to
improve a player's competitive edge.

There will always be disagreement from someone about whether a given
three-dart out is the best choice, but this one seems to be reasonable.

The usual rule when playing more than one game is that the loser of the
diddle starts first in the second game. If you're playing more games, rediddle
is usually required. Some play "mugs away", which means loser goes first
on the next game.

14. OK. Now I'm ready for a more interesting game.(:-))
How do I play American Cricket?

The game of Cricket differs from the games just described in that there
is an element of strategy used against the opponent rather than just individual
scoring subtractions. Let's take a closer look at it:

a. The purpose of the game is to "close" (or to make it impossible for
one's opponent to score points) the numbers 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, and
the bullseye by scoring three hits (usually called "marks") in each of
these designated areas of the board. These numbers, including the bullseye,
may be closed in any order. A dart in the triple or double counts as three
or two hits respectively.

b. When three hits have been scored in a number, that number is "closed"
and additional hits score points only if the opponent has not yet scored
his three hits in (ie; "closed) that number.

c. Your opponent cannot receive points on a number you have "closed",
but can prevent you from scoring additional points by scoring three "marks"
thereby "closing" it too.

In more depth

Cricket is a 2 or 4 player (team) game. The object is to "close out"
with the most points. You close a number by hitting it three times: either
three singles, a single and double, or a triple. Once a player closes a
number, if he (or she, but from now on I'll say "he") hits it again and
his opponent has not closed it, he scores that many points. The numbers
involved are 20,19,18,17,16,15 and the cork (bull).

Let me try to walk you through a game. This is really hard without a
board to show you on! We shoot for "diddle" or closest to cork; I win (Hey,
my game, I win). The scoreboard is set up like this:

John You
20
19
18
17
16
15
B

There are no requirements for getting "in," like in x01 (i.e., no double
required). I shoot two 20's and one 5. I put two slashes next to the 20
in my column to mark my two hits. Traditionally, they form an X. You shoot
and hit a triple 20, a single 20, and a 19. You put an X and then circle
it in your column next to the 20 and a / next to the 19. You have also
scored 20 points so you write 20 in the points area in your column. I shoot
a 20, a 19, and double 19. I have now closed out both the 20 and 19. Now
you can't score any more 20s because I have them closed and I can score
on the 19s because you still have them open. You would try to close them
on your next turn. The game is over when one person closes all their numbers
including Bull and has more points. Ties are not allowed. The
person who closes all numbers first wins if he has the same or more points
than his opponent.) If no points are scored the first person to "close
out" wins. You might want to start by playing without points to get the
feel for the game.

You can play with many variations: "no slop" which means that you must
close out the numbers in succession, i.e. 20, then 19. etc. and darts which
"waft" into (hit without meaning to) numbers don't count; Reverse Cricket
which is kind of stupid but after a few beers sounded great one night,
instead of hitting the 20s on down, start with the 1s and work your way
up the board to the 20s. WARNING this takes forever but is REALLY good
practice."

Cricket is a really popular league game. There are many strategies involved
so feel free to ask any questions about the game even if you think they're
stupid!

15. How are dart boards made?

MAKING DARTBOARDS

Ever wonder how they get those thousands of tiny bristles stuffed into
a dartboard? Before the invention of the bristle dartboard, the boards
were made of wound paper or wood. The wooden boards required daily soaking
to prevent splitting and smelled bad. The original manufacturer of bristle
dartboards used this characteristic of wooden boards to name his company
- Nodor ("no-odor").

To make today's tournament dartboards, manufacturers start by cutting
out the backboards which are made from high quality particleboard 5/8ths
of an inch thick. Next, the bands of steel which go around the board and
hold it together are prepared. Nodor, for example, coat their bands with
a black leather-like material to cut down on the reflectiveness of the
bare metal.

The main ingredient in dartboards of today is the sisal or hemp which
the English dartboard makers import from Africa. The sisal fibers are cleaned
and braided into long skeins which are formed into a paper-covered tube
approximately 3 inches in diameter. The tube is then cut into 1 inch thick
wafers. A total of 51 or 52 wafers are used in the construction of 1 dartboard.
The steel bands and a lot of pressure are employed to squeeze the sisal
wafers into a perfect circle. Then, glue is applied to the particleboard
and the whole affair is put together. Holding pins are mechanically inserted
through pre-punched holes in the band.

At this point the board is fully formed but it's surface is pretty rough.
High speed sanders are used to smooth it out and prepare it for the next
stage, the silk screening of the red, green and black Sections of the board.
The "white" or blond sections are the natural colour of the sisal and are
not touched. After the dye or ink has dried, the wires are installed with
those defining the doubles and triples rings first. The clips or hooks
holding the number ring are hammered into the board and, finally, the number
ring is installed.

16. Dart Trivia

- Some dart players in England think throwing darts can get boring, so
they take some six inch nails and use them instead. Joe Hitchcock used
to love to beat "the champs" in this fashion. One of his favorite tricks
was to "nail" a button from between someone's outstretched fingers.

- The late Jim Pike, a darts legend in England before most of us even
threw one, was such a marksman that he could shoot a cigarette from someone's
mouth with a dart - AND STICK IT IN ANY DOUBLE.

- The best flights in the world are made from turkey feathers. So who's
the "turkey" now?

- The average speed of a dart hitting a board is around 40mph (64k/h).

- London, 1937. The late and great Jim Pike went around the board on
doubles, retrieving his own darts, in the time of 3 minutes 30 seconds.
He did this shooting from a distance of 9 feet.

- Can you score more than 180 with 3 darts? - Turn 16 to the top of
the board and it becomes 91. Three triples give you 819.

- There are more pubs with dartboards in the center of New York than
there are in the center of London.

- Years ago dartboards were made from elm wood. The numbers and wedges
had to be carefully painted on and the spider (wires) had as many as 100
staples holding it to the board. To keep it from cracking, the careful
pub owner would soak in a bucket of water or spillage from the beer taps
over night. This activity spawned the popular misconception that soaking
a loose dartboard in water will prevent darts from falling out. While this
is true it will also considerably shorten the life of the board. The boards
we use are made of tightly packed fibers of hemp or sisal. When these are
moistened, they swell and will invariably bulge, causing the fibers to
fall out. The best way is to let natural moisture in the air tighten the
board for you. This, however, can take some time. If you've got a really bad board, steam it gently or hang a moistened rag over it to let it "breathe"
the moisture slowly.

- At an exhibition match at the Gipsy Stadium, in England, in July 1977,
Muhammed Ali faced former Welshchamp Alan Evans. With Evans scoring only
on triples, Ali won hitting a bullseye on the way out and immediately proclaimed
himself darts champion of the world.

- On February 21st, 1989, at Buckingham Palace, London, Eric Bristow
became the first dart player to receive the coveted Member of the British
Empire award (M.B.E.). Mr. Bristow admitted he was nervous meeting the
queen, saying, "It was more nerve-racking than any TV final." This gives
him the right to have the letters M.B.E. present after his name.

- We've all heard of people playing darts for money or a beer, but this
tale's got a different twist. It's a known fact that singers Tom Jones
and Englebert Humperdink are old friends and like to play darts. When
on tour they've been known to appear at various pubs all over the world
looking for a game. During the 1970s, they purchased a 3,000-acre ranch
and settled for the fishing rights by playing a game of darts. Just for
the record, Jones won.

- Scotland's No. 1, Jocky Wilson hit a 24-dart 1001 leg against American
Bud Trumbower in March of 1987, at Eastgate U.S. Marine Base in England:
180-140-140-140-81-100-100-120. Jocky scored an incredible 600 points in
his first 12 arrows and capped the leg with a fine 60-20-40 game shot to
average 41.7 points per dart.

- On November 11, 1975 at the Broomfield WMC in Devon, England, international
star Cliff Inglis tossed a magnificent 19-dart 1001 game, smashing all
previous records to date: 160-180-140-180-121-180-40. Cliff averaged an
unbelievable 52.68 points per dart despite getting lucky with his first
dart, hitting a D20 instead of the triple.

- All-County Welshman Leighton Rees, on December 18th, 1976, finished
a game of 3001 in 141 darts, connecting on only the single and double bulls
and closing with a double bull. Leighton converted 34 double bulls and
52 bulls while just 55 darts went astray during this epic leg.

- Tony Elleson, at the Now Inn Crumlin in Gwent, England, scored a perfect
double start/double finish 301 game in June of 1987. While not so unusual
in his feat perhaps, but after his first throw he broke a shaft retrieving
his darts and literally had to sit down for five minutes and dig out the
remains before finishing his game. Certainly the stoppage of play did not
affect his concentration: D20-60-60-60-57-D12.

- On June 19,1987 at the Fishing Boat Inn in Northumberland, shooter
Tab Hunter (no, not the movie star!) recorded a brilliant 23 dart 1001
leg:100-180-140-125-140-100-140-76. He averaged a fine 43.5 points per
dart, ending the final 76 in two.

- Duncan Swift, playing out of the Felilxstowe Dock Sports and Social
Club, Surrey, scored 493,470 points to capture the 24 hour solo record
in May of 1987. While shooting and retrieving the darts himself, Duncan
hit an incredible 123 180s, 643 140s and used a total of 18,369 darts for
a fabulous 26.86 points per dart average.

- In April of 1988, Stephen Wagg set the 12 hour solo record for scoring
double and single bulls at the Thorncliff Cricket and Social Club in Sheffield,
England. Stephen registered 961 double bulls and 3,335 single bulls for
a score of 131,425. He tossed a grand total of 9,714 darts for a 13.52
per dart average.

- An eight-hour record for scoring bulls and double bulls was set by
Birmingham players George Perry and Tony Hodgkiss at The Seventh Trap Public
House in December of 1987. The two, averaging 16.19 per dart, hit 1,406
double bulls and 4,247 single bulls for a total of 176,475 points, breaking
the old record of 1,048 double bulls and 3,308 single bulls.

- In June of 1978, All-World John Lowe captured a 1001 leg in 22 darts:140-180-140-100-140-140-125-D18.
John averaged 137 per throw or a grand 45.6 per dart enroute to this memorable
game.

- Pat Irwin of the Mitre hotel, playing in a double start/double finish
501 match, hit a 170 in (Dbull-60-60) and a 170 out (60-60-Dbull) in the
same leg, in April of 1987.

- In a special pairs 3001 challenge match against Steve Brown and Gene
Raymond, London county leaguers Reg Harding and Dave Lee slugged an 86
darter, just 11 darts short of the world record:

41-35-140-125-85-85-140-180-180-80-100-100-100-100-180-55-100-100-140-140-100-100-100-100-45-82-96-32.
The pair hit 3 maximums enroute to a 34.8 per dart average over the course
of the challenge.

- Probably the most notable individual effort occurred on October 13,
1984 in the quarter-finals of the MFI World Matchplay Championships. The
match featured British stars John Lowe and Keith Deller with Lowe hitting
the first televised nine-dart perfect 501 game in the history of the sport.
For the record he went:180-180-141 and collected (eventually) a cheque
for 102,000 pounds for his efforts. (Ironically, due to complex tax laws,
Lowe could not pocket a penny from the jackpot until two years later, as
the currency sat in a British bank waiting for final approval.)

- Paul Lim of San Bernadino, Calif. threw a perfect 9-dart 501 leg at
the 1990 EmbassyWorld Championships. Because he did it before the TV cameras
he received 52,000 British pounds ($88,000 US) for his remarkable achievement.

- Big Cliff Lazarenko fired his first 9-dart perfect 501 game at an
exhibition at the Aberlynon Leisure Centre. Using 25-gram titanium tungsten
darts, he threw two 180s and a T20, T19, D12 for the 141 out in the last
match of the night.

- In the most perfect of perfect 501 games, Roy Blowies, playing at
the Widgeon's Pubin Calgary, Alberta, Canada in late 1989 achieved his
9-darter by doubling in on the bullseye first. He scored 161(dBull-T20-T17),
180,160(T20-T20-D20).